“That fee is almost too good to turn down” – Liverpool urged to sign ex-Manchester United man by former Reds star
Former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore reckons the Reds should go after Marcel Sabitzer, whose loan spell with Manchester United ended just last month.
Sabitzer joined United on a loan till the end of the season from Bayern Munich in January after Christian Eriksen's ankle injury. The Red Devils announced last month that the Austrian will be returning to Bavaria, where he has a contract till 2025.
Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has reported that Bayern are open to selling the midfielder this summer if they receive an offer of around €15-17 million. Collymore believes that's a bargain for a player of Sabitzer's quality and has urged Liverpool to sign him.
The Englishman, who scored 35 times in 81 appearances for the Reds, told CaughtOffside:
“There have been recent reports that the Bavarians are happy for the Austrian to leave permanently for a fee of just €15m – if that is true, I cannot believe United haven’t snapped their hand off already."
He continued:
“If they’re not going to take Bayern Munich up on it, I wonder if Klopp will think about it. He’s proven he can play in the Premier League, and that fee is almost too good to turn down, especially when it’s senior international-level midfielders you’re in the market for!”
Liverpool have been on the lookout for midfielders this summer following the departures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner. They have signed Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion and Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig.
Manchester United, meanwhile, seem to have added an extra body in midfield by reportedly signing Mason Mount from Chelsea.
Marcel Sabitzer was solid for Manchester United and could do decent job for Liverpool
After arriving in January, Marcel Sabitzer played 18 games across competitions for Manchester United, scoring thrice and assisting once.
Eleven of those appearances, including seven starts, came in the Premier League. Sabitzer was solid in those games, averaging 0.9 key passes, 0.7 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and 3.3 duels won per contest.
Nearly 55% of his attempted passes per league match were in the opposition's half, emphasising his willingness to progress the ball forward. The Austrian did so while often playing in a slightly deeper midfield role within a 4-2-3-1 system for Manchester United than he would receive if he went to Liverpool.
Should the Reds stick to their recent 3-4-3 formation, Sabitzer could alternate with Fabinho for one of the holding midfield positions. The Brazilian suffered from a massive dip in form last season and could do with some occasional rest having played a high volume of games in recent campaigns.
Alternately, if Liverpool switch to their conventional 4-3-3, Sabitzer could operate in either of the three midfield positions, giving Jurgen Klopp flexibility.